Dark Wind                                                                                                                     Turner, Illinois is a sleepy town about to be shocked out of its lethargy. The inhabitants have enjoyed years of tranquility, but are about to find out that nothing, even peace, comes without a price. The bill has come due, with terror, fear, and death being the only acceptable currency.      When two children disappear without a trace  from the streets of this idyllic community where few people bother to lock their doors, the citizens are stunned. The reappearance of the abductees brings little relief to the confused populace. The ten-year- old girl and eight-year-old boy return disheveled and incoherent, unable to give an account of what happened to them.      After a stay in the hospital, the still unresponsive girl returns home. Soon, a neighbor's pet dog is attacked at night in its owner's backyard. While most chalk the incident up to coyotes, the town soon discovers that greater dangers lurk in the shadows than mere wild animals.      The job of making sense of this mess and protecting the town, is left to Sheriff John Barker, a lifelong, small- town lawman who quickly finds he is out of his depth. He has no shortage of suspects to investigate: there is Juandelina Arequippa, the odd lady who lives on the outskirts of town, that nobody seems to know much about; there is Jake Lohmann, a young man afflicted with many phobias that make him seem an unlikely candidate to be involved in such wrongdoing, yet whose name pops up at every turn of the investigation; there is Terence McNally, a local ne'er do well; and even one of Barkers's own deputies who exhibits increasingly troublesome behavior as the case unfolds.      Another abduction and a killing spree propel the investigation well beyond the sheriff's ability to handle. He appeals to the state police for help. The investigator they send is waylaid and executed before he makes it to Turner, leaving John Barker on his own once again. The twists and turns of the continuing inquiry unearth dangerous secrets, and lead to a final, deadly confrontation where some will face and overcome their greatest fears, and others will fall prey to their own twisted desires.